Barclays Increases Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Price Target to $46.00

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its target price increased by stock analysts at Barclays from $37.00 to $46.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target suggests a potential downside of 4.35% from the company’s previous close.

SYF has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Baird R W upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.41.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SYF opened at $48.09 on Tuesday. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $27.30 and a 1 year high of $48.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $44.70 and a 200-day moving average of $41.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.63.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.19). Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The firm had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $1,420,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,446,890. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 10,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $800,000. Toroso Investments LLC lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 33,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,033,000 after buying an additional 8,485 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 284.9% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 53,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,646,000 after buying an additional 39,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,882,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Company Profile

Synchrony Financial, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer financial services company in the United States. It provides credit products, such as credit cards, commercial credit products, and consumer installment loans. The company also offers private label credit cards, dual co-brand and general purpose credit cards, short- and long-term installment loans, and consumer banking products; and deposit products, including certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, money market accounts, and savings accounts, and sweep and affinity deposits, as well as accepts deposits through third-party securities brokerage firms.